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Coffee, Tea and Nagging at Japan’s Anti-procrastination Cafe

Takuya Kawai, the owner of the Manuscript Writing Cafe which is designed for writers who are working on a deadline, shows a slip of paper on which customers write down goals and the amount of time they plan to finish it in along with a stamp that clears the goal of a customer at the cafe in Tokyo, Japan, April 21, 2022. Picture taken on April 21, 2022. (Reuters)
Takuya Kawai, the owner of the Manuscript Writing Cafe which is designed for writers who are working on a deadline, shows a slip of paper on which customers write down goals and the amount of time they plan to finish it in along with a stamp that clears the goal of a customer at the cafe in Tokyo, Japan, April 21, 2022. Picture taken on April 21, 2022. (Reuters)
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Coffee, Tea and Nagging at Japan’s Anti-procrastination Cafe

Takuya Kawai, the owner of the Manuscript Writing Cafe which is designed for writers who are working on a deadline, shows a slip of paper on which customers write down goals and the amount of time they plan to finish it in along with a stamp that clears the goal of a customer at the cafe in Tokyo, Japan, April 21, 2022. Picture taken on April 21, 2022. (Reuters)
Takuya Kawai, the owner of the Manuscript Writing Cafe which is designed for writers who are working on a deadline, shows a slip of paper on which customers write down goals and the amount of time they plan to finish it in along with a stamp that clears the goal of a customer at the cafe in Tokyo, Japan, April 21, 2022. Picture taken on April 21, 2022. (Reuters)

Writers facing deadlines go to Tokyo's "Manuscript Writing Cafe" with an understanding - they can't leave until their work is done.

Oh, and there's prodding thrown in to make sure they buckle down and finish.

The clean, well-lit place in western Tokyo has 10 seats reserved for writers, editors, manga artists and anybody else grappling with the written word and deadlines. Coffee and tea are unlimited and self-serve, and high-speed Wi-Fi and docking ports are installed at every seat.

Customers enter, write down their names, writing goals and the time they plan to finish. They can also ask for progress checks as they work, with "mild" just asking them if they have finished as they pay and "normal" being a check-in every hour. Those choosing "hard" will feel silent pressure from staff standing frequently behind them.

Owner Takuya Kawai, 52 and a writer himself, said he hoped the strict rules would help people focus.

"The cafe went viral on social media and people are saying the rules are scary or that it feels like being watched from behind," the genial Kawai said, displaying a board with the names of customers who completed their tasks and left.

"But actually instead of monitoring, I'm here to support them ... As a result what they thought would take a day actually was completed in three hours, or tasks that usually take three hours were done in one."

The cafe charges 130 yen ($1.01) for the first 30 minutes and then 300 yen ($2.34) every successive hour. Though a few people have stayed past the official closing time, they have all eventually gotten their work done.

Emiko Sasaki, 37 and a blog writer, said she relished the chance to be free of pesky social media and phone calls.

"It's good to be able to concentrate on writing," she said, completing her goal of three blog articles in three hours.

The cafe, originally a livestreaming space, was hit badly by the coronavirus pandemic, but Kawai is now hopeful as word of mouth spreads about its new format.

"I don't know what kind of work might be born, but I'm proud to be able to offer my support so that things written here can be published to the whole world," he said.

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Landmark Nepal Survey Estimates Nearly 400 Elusive Snow Leopards

A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)
A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)
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Landmark Nepal Survey Estimates Nearly 400 Elusive Snow Leopards

A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)
A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)

Nepal's first nationwide survey of the threatened snow leopard estimated nearly 400 of the elusive big cats in the Himalayan nation, wildlife officials said Tuesday.

Habitat loss, climate change and poaching have greatly impacted snow leopard populations across Asia, listed as a "vulnerable" species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

But the survey offers a rare shot of hope, confirming numbers lie at the upper end of the previous estimates.

With thick grey fur dotted with dark spots, and large paws that act as natural snow shoes, the species are difficult to spot and quick to hide, making field research challenging.

"This is a historic step in Nepal's snow leopard conservation journey," Haribhadra Acharya, senior ecologist at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, told AFP.

"This is the first time we are getting authentic data with the great effort of researchers," he said.

An estimated total of 397 snow leopards were counted, determined through motion-sensor camera and genetic analysis in seven key areas.

It offers the most comprehensive national estimate of snow leopards -- also known as the "ghosts of mountains" -- previously estimated by the IUCN to be in the range of 301-400.

Snow leopards are the least studied of the big cats globally due to their low population density and remote mountain habitats they inhabit.

"Nepal has only two percent of the size of the snow leopard habitats globally, (yet) we host 10 percent of the total estimated population", Ghana S Gurung, country representative of WWF Nepal, told AFP.

"More importantly, we are the second smallest country in terms of snow leopard habitat size after Bhutan, (but) we hold the fourth largest population," he added.

The Snow Leopard Trust, a US-based conservation group, says the exact total number is not known but that "there may be as few as 3,920 and probably no more than 6,390" across 12 countries in Asia.

Although conservationists have welcomed the new population estimate, many remain concerned about the threats posed by climate change and infrastructure development.

"New road construction, installation of transmission lines, and increased human activity in search of herbs are disrupting snow leopards' habitats in the Himalayas," said Acharya, one of the lead researchers.

Experts say the increasing avalanches in the mountains -- where climate change is exacerbating extremes of weather patterns -- are another threat.

Nepal has been praised worldwide for its efforts to protect wildlife which have helped several species, including tigers and rhinos, to return from the brink of local extinction.

The country's conservation efforts have helped to triple its tiger population to 355 since 2010 and to increase one-horned rhinoceros from around 100 in the 1960s to 752 in 2021.